WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he will leave the Ecuadorian embassy "soon", after spending more than two years inside the London building.

During a press conference this morning, the 43-year-old said his reasons for leaving were not those that had previously been reported in the press - but refused to elaborate any further.

He gave no details on when, or how, he might leave.

The Australian campaigner has been living in the West London embassy since June 2012 as part of a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is facing allegations of sexual offences against two women.

He claims he does not want to travel to Sweden, for fear he will be further extradited to the United States, where he is under investigation for the publication of confidential documents through Wikileaks.

He faces arrest the moment he steps outside the Ecuadorian embassy, where police officers have been stationed since he arrived at a cost of around £7 million so far.

Assange's announcement followed speculation that he was planning to leave to seek medical treatment for heart and lung problems.

Today he mentioned the "difficulty" of living inside a small room with little sunlight for two years, but again gave no further details.

Last week he lost a legal bid to have the arrest warrant against him cancelled. The decision by Judge Lena Egelin dashed hopes of a breakthrough in his case.

Assange told journalists there has been "no movement at all" in the Swedish investigation and said the Ecuadorian government and his legal team were the only "reasonable" parties involved in the case.

Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino added: "This situation must come to an end. Two years is simply too long. It is time to free Julian Assange, it is time for his human rights to be finally respected."